I snagged a new day job a year ago, and my editing since then has been mostly limited to the small amount of freelance work my schedule allows. I was a catalog proofreader; now I’m a content manager for an account at a creative agency. Content manager may be one of the most vague job titles I’ve ever heard. For me, it means I make sure client feedback is implemented correctly across a whole slew of Word and Excel documents. There's a lot of copying and pasting, a lot of critical thinking and memory, a lot of diplomacy and collaboration, a little bit of proofreading. What there’s not a lot of is editing.

Not being the final say in matters of style and adherence to editorial guidelines was a new and uncomfortable position for me. I found myself on the other side, the writers’ side, passing off documents to the agency’s copyeditors and hoping for the best. At first, I couldn’t help but glare at every edit, my mind whirling with thoughts like, Why is this capitalized? Why isn’t this hyphenated? I wouldn’t have done that. Intensifying matters was the fact that I’d also interviewed for a copyeditor position at this same agency and been passed up.

I realized that I had to check myself before I wrecked myself. I didn’t need to prove anything to anyone; editing wasn’t my job anymore, and I needed to respect the knowledge and experience of the copyeditor I was working with. More useful than a competitive spirit would be a collaborative one, one eager to learn from others with the same passions. I soon found that this copyeditor knew rules, guidelines, and history that I didn’t, and that she was the best person to go to when we were both trying to work through a tricky style decision.

Working in solitude can fuel an instinctual competitive drive when a challenger appears in the arena. But the important lesson I’ve learned is that the person I want to see as competition can turn out to be my greatest ally.

Here's something I think about once in a while: the phenomenon of putting two spaces after a sentence's ending punctuation. I didn't see it at all until I began editing other people's work professionally. And then I had no idea where it came from. Why were so many people putting an extra space after a period? I had to circle each instance or do a find-and-replace that flagged hundreds of spots. Even then, though, I wasn't annoyed by it, just baffled.

It turns out that just about everyone who reflexively types two spaces after a period either learned to type on a typewriter or was taught by someone who learned that way. Spacing on typewriters was different than most of today's electronic fonts; each character used to get the same amount of space, making the end of a sentence difficult to distinguish visually, but most fonts today are proportional, rendering that extra space after a period (or after a question mark, or after an exclamation point, or on either side of an em dash) unnecessary.

Many people who learned the two-space rule don't (or can't) let go of it easily, and for the most part that's okay. There are whole industries that still adhere to it, and there are also those who insist that the extra space is still necessary for readability (although apparently not as many as those who insist that it detracts from readability). However, I am for the most part a supporter of "changing with the times," and I do want people to know that in this modern high-tech society such habits can be viewed negatively. Particularly if you're submitting, say, job applications, adherence to this outdated rule can be seen as indicating a resistance to change or, unfortunately, used as a tool for age discrimination. File this one under "good to know"!

In my personal mythology of punctuation, Semicolon is a sweet, shy underdog, often misunderstood and maligned but heroic in his own way. He lives in his humble hut, gentle and introspective but always alert to passing sentences that have become confusing tangles of list items and related clauses. Semicolon brings words together in the most graceful way and asks for nothing in return.

I don't know why our poor Semicolon is so misunderstood. Maybe it's because he sometimes gets used in sentences that are long and winding and difficult. But don't worry. I'm here to offer a brief (and simple!) guide to the use of this lovely punctuation mark.

CONNECTION

You have two independent clauses (complete sentences) that are closely related. They're so closely related that using a period between them would be just a touch too much interruption. Well, use a semicolon instead!

These pears are too ripe for me; I like my pears crunchy.

The sun is shining; spring has arrived.

COMPLEX LISTS

You have a list of three or more items. At least one item in the list contains commas. To avoid confusion, separate the list items with semicolons (you can think of it as if the higher-level commas are "graduating" and need a little hat on them).

They asked for apple juice, orange juice, and lemonade; blankets and pillows; and the Netflix password.

There is one last commonly accepted way to use a semicolon: When a sentence has a whole lotta commas and the meaning might get confusing, a comma might be graduated to a semicolon for clarity. You'll see it a lot more often in older literature. But please, unless you have mastered the use of the semicolon, pretend this last way to use it does not exist. I have a theory that it's what causes most people's confusion.

Aside from being a cool word in itself (silent "m"? Delightful!), a mnemonic is one of the most useful tools there is to help us navigate through modern life. I wanted to take a moment here to sing its praises.

A mnemonic is, essentially, anything that helps us remember something else. Vague, yes, but also full of opportunity! Let's say you need to remember a list of things or a date or a specific fact. You can create a rhyme, a song, an acrostic, or a made-up association, for a start.

Some examples I was taught:

King Phillip Came Over For Good Spaghetti > Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, SpeciesBiological classification

The Quadratic Formula song. I couldn't find any videos of the one I learned (although there are others!), but it went something like "MI-nus B plus minus squaaare root OF b squared, MI-nus 4ac, OVER 2a. OVER 2a." Got that?

Commercials also make great use of mnemonics in the song form. There was a jingle for National American University that is so insanely catchy I'd often encounter fellow middle-schoolers singing it in the hallways. And the "gotta go" jingle? Band-Aid's stuck on me? Expedia (dot commmm)? Countless local retailers giving you phone numbers, websites, or exit numbers?

The specific reason I'm rhapsodizing about mnemonics today is that they can help you spell. If you don't want to spell correctly, that's cool, I guess, but if you do, creating memory devices can make spelling effortless. I have no reason to remember most of the above mnemonics, but I couldn't forget them if I tried!

The three most useful spelling mnemonics I ever created are so simple they might seem like a joke:

Yesterday, while editing, I was chuckling at how diverse and strange my Google search history must be. My full-time job triggers lots of searches about food and plants, while my freelance work raises questions about everything from '90s bands to current U.S. medical crises. Just for fun, I took a look through my search history from 2014 and found some major categories (and representative screenshots thereof) into which most of my searches fell.

The next featured character in my personal mythology of punctuation is the powerful, the confident, the underappreciated em dash. Em Dash is the hero who patiently awaits his moment of glory. He watches, ever alert, as Parentheses, Semicolon, and Period exhaust themselves leaping into action over and over. When floundering clauses start to drift away, when Exclamation Point, Colon, and Comma are too much or not enough, Em Dash straightens his immaculate eveningwear and walks with self-assured yet humble strides into the fray. The following situations are just some of the ones in which he truly shines.INTRODUCTIONAn em dash can convey a professional, if somewhat brusque, greeting to any type of physical or digital missive. (Note that what appears in these examples may be two hyphens instead; see the end of this post for an explanation of that bit of tomfoolery.)Good morning, Michelle--I dropped a project off in your office… If you’re sick of colons and commas, it can also provide a slightly different flavor when introducing a list or an idea.I don’t know what I liked most—the movie, the previews, or the snacks.PAUSE Em Dash is unique in that he can cause an abrupt halt; he is more decisive than Ellipsis and sharper and more versatile than Period.“Would you like some sup—” She broke off and stared. “What are you wearing?” EXTRA INFORMATIONWhen em dashes are used to provide extra information within a sentence, parentheses can be used almost interchangeably (but they can make their contents seem less important than the rest of the sentence). Using an em dash keeps the elaborating information on the same level of importance.The doctor—a pompous fool—somehow managed to concoct a miracle cure.The true value of this story—what keeps scholars returning to it time and again—is what it says about the plight of the chronically ill.CONNECTIONLike a semicolon, an em dash can be used to connect two sentences. Leave him alone—he’s busy!I don’t know why I wanted a puppy—she destroys all the furniture.

Short, medium, long: hyphen, en dash, em dash.

Please note that an em dash is neither a hyphen nor an en dash. The name “em dash” refers to the width of the letter “m” (which is wider than an “n,” hence the slight difference in length between the en dash and the em dash). One should almost never use an en dash in writing; it’s used mostly with things like number ranges. A hyphen is even shorter. Sometimes, depending on where people are typing, they’re forced to use two hyphens to indicate an em dash, because Em Dash is often considered a special character.

In Microsoft Word, when you type a word, two hyphens, and another word, the hyphens will turn into an em dash when you continue typing. Easy. When you type a word, a space, one hyphen, another space, and another word, the hyphen automatically turns into an en dash—not what we want!

Maybe the reason I love punctuation so much is that I think of each mark as a character. Well, I guess it is a “character,” technically, but I think of it as a person. A superhero or ancient god or goddess. I am constantly creating a mythology of punctuation. So, in the interest of spreading the love of punctuation, I offer up the first installment of a series on the powers of each little mark. The mighty apostrophe has a very specific and limited set of abilities. She is frequently misunderstood and sparks mischief in word processors all over the world in retaliation. She is rigid and unyielding, slinky and sassy as the mood strikes her. She can bring other characters together by force; she can strike them out of the text entirely if she pleases. She lives alone in a secluded cave but can frequently be seen haughtily stalking through the villages nearby. Enough mythology; let’s look at what the apostrophe can do in the real world.

POSSESSION If you want to say that something belongs to someone (or to something else), you might need an apostrophe (and, generally, her only friend, the letter “s”). Eat Jim’s pizza. The pizza belongs to Jim or originated from Jim in some way. Note that (except in very rare circumstances, outlined in another section below) you should not use an apostrophe to make something plural. How do you know whether something is plural or possessive? Just ask yourself whether the word (or noun phrase, like "your family" in the photo below) in question could be replaced by a possessive pronoun (my, our, their, his, her, its*).Eat his pizza. “His” is a possessive pronoun, and the sentence still works, so “Jim’s” (with the apostrophe) is correct.The car belongs to the Smiths. Should “Smiths” be “Smith’s”? Well, replace "the Smiths" with a possessive pronoun. If it makes sense, add the apostrophe.The car belongs to our. Um, no. One Smith, two Smiths, three Smiths, four. Add “s” or “es,” not a single thing more. (It’s tempting to add an apostrophe if the singular form of the noun already ends in “s.” But this is when to add “es” instead. Keeping up with the Joneses. Apostrophe tends to get angry if you mistreat her by using her to make plurals.) Sometimes you need to make something both plural and possessive. Do it in that order. Add “s” or “es.” Then add the apostrophe. The Smiths’ car. *Understandably, “its” confuses many. Just remember that there are two different words: its and it’s. The first is a possessive pronoun. The second is a contraction.

﻿﻿Huh? If you want people to pay a lot for something you're selling, it may help to hire a proofreader. "Your Families" here is plural. "Your Family's" would be possessive: the treasures belonging to your family.﻿﻿

OMISSIONThe apostrophe has the unique ability to obliterate letters, either between words (as described in the section on contractions, below) or within a single word. An apostrophe tends to be used for omission within a single word if the writer is using slang (or, specifically, writing words the way they sound when people say them aloud). Make ’em shout. I want to hear hootin’ and hollerin’. The omission can come at the beginning of the word, in the middle, or at the end and can be one letter or multiple letters. There are two things to note about this apostrophe use:1.The apostrophe should always face left. (It should gently hug the air or letter to its left.) Always, always, always. But unfortunately for us, most word processors will automatically use that imposter, the single left quote, when you try to stick an apostrophe at the beginning of a word. There are ways around this: Use the symbol browser; set up a shortcut key; or do it the clunky way and type any letter, type the apostrophe and the rest of the word, then delete the cheat letter. This is not a concern with fonts that use a straight apostrophe.2.An apostrophe can only be used once in a word. There may be multiple places in a word where letters are omitted. But you should only use an apostrophe once, at the first instance of omission.Look at the li’l cutie!

﻿﻿Aww, poor misplaced apostrophe. Because both the "a" and the "d" are omitted from "and," only the first omitted letter should be replaced by the apostrophe: Stop 'N Shop.﻿﻿

CONTRACTIONSometimes, through either the temporary goodness of her heart or a desire for vengeance, the mighty apostrophe will use her most treasured power to combine innocent words into one. She deletes unnecessary letters who get in the way (see the section on omission, above). This one should be quick and easy: If the word is really two words combined, use an apostrophe. If you don’t (do not) know whether the word is really two words, try saying the sentence in a snobby accent. If that doesn’t (does not) help, consider Googling, say, “lets contraction” and see what the result is. Or just write a different sentence. Let’s go to the park. Let us go to the park.It’s quiet in here. It is quiet in here.You’re silly. You are silly.I could’ve been somebody! I could have been somebody! (Hey, now, it’s never too late.)PLURALIZATION Remember when I said you should not use an apostrophe to make something plural? Well, there are a couple unique snowflakes that need help in order to become plural. Apostrophe takes pity on them.When a single letter or number needs to become plural, use an apostrophe before the “s.” This is because, in some cases, those two characters could look like a completely different word. Computers use lots of 0’s and 1’s. If you said 0s and 1s, that looks kinda like words that sound like “oz” and “is.” Bear with me; it’s more important for letters.I got all A’s. I got all As? Or, I got all as? Without obvious context, this would be super confusing. I learned my ABCs. There is more than one letter here, so we don’t need the apostrophe’s help to make the meaning clear. (And there is one other instance that I won’t even mention, because it’s both arguable and confusing.)

Focus on the above four areas, and you will understand the apostrophe and her ways. She is mighty. She is misunderstood. She is crucial to the well-being of all other text. She demands respect.

I used to spend hours a day reading. Sometime in elementary school, the patterns of the words, the punctuation, and the formatting of text in books clicked into place in my mind. Many people have that experience with, say, math or engineering; it’s a way of looking at the world that just makes sense. I saw the visual feasts of the stories themselves, but I also simultaneously saw the mechanics of the superficial layer: ink on paper. Throughout my youth, I was repeatedly flouted in my attempts to express my passion for writing mechanics. A teacher, flustered, answered that she didn’t know why that comma needed to be there. My classmates liked to antagonize me by making purposeful mistakes. I called myself the Spelling Phantom and celebrated a victory when I could correct an error on a whiteboard with nobody noticing.

Lest you think I was kidding, here’s an excerpt from a 2006 notebook of mine.

My parents gamely tolerated my corrections of their speech, my tirades against a flawed sign or newsletter or commercial. I felt that “people” simply didn’t care. They didn’t understand how important the clarity of communication is. I lost a few friends by correcting them both personally and on public forums; they felt personally attacked, unheard, and defensive. I channeled my energy into editing my high school newspaper, eager to escape and learn more about this passion.

But a funny thing happened when I got to college. As a Professional Writing major, I was surrounded by others who cared about writing and others who were gifted at editing. One might think that I would be further entrenched into the grammar cop mindset: Ha, fellow wizards of words, look at all the riffraff and all the rules they ignore! It had the opposite effect. I found myself becoming a grammar hippie.

Why? I have a couple guesses. Realizing that there are, indeed, people who care about the same things I do was unexpectedly therapeutic. It was validation in the way that repeating a toddler’s desires back to her is therapeutic. Sometimes we just want to be heard. I also made a few discoveries. I am not an expert in all things grammar or spelling or punctuation. I can’t always tell why a sentence feels wrong; I just know it needs to be fixed and how to fix it. (I wish everyone loved grammar diagramming as much as I do, but alas, that will never be the case.) And, most importantly, I learned how stunningly arbitrary so many “rules” actually are. That’s not to say my passion doesn’t matter—it just means that getting furious about rule breakers is misdirected energy.

Grammar diagrams: puzzles with words!

In more official terms, a grammar cop could be called a prescriptivist, while a grammar hippie could be called a descriptivist. The former enforces rules and guidelines and attempts to preserve correctness through the generations (have you ever seen someone change “each other” to “one another”?). The latter seeks to find patterns in current usage of language everywhere (hey, a lot of people are spelling it “alright” [shudder]). I am now far less of a grammar cop than I used to be, but I am certainly not a full-fledged grammar hippie. If I were, I’d have a harder time doing my job. But being more of a hippie than a cop has saved me a lot of aggravation in recent years. There’s a place for both cops and hippies, but I find that I’m happier on the outskirts of hippie land. And, of course, we all need to find a way to communicate with *cough* one another, because, after all, isn’t that our common goal?